Why and How to Use Twitter + Tips

I’ve recently become a Twitter fanatic. Now, that isn’t to say I just started to use Twitter. I used it a long time ago but got tired of seeing my stream filled with spam and I really didn’t understand the power of it. Recently I decided to give it another go and set up a new Twitter account. (Follow me on Twitter here!)

I don’t have a whole lot of followers, maybe 40 at this point, but I get a much better response from these 40 than I ever did with the 2000 I had on my account filled with spam.

I used to just go around, follow everyone that would follow me back, and hope they actually cared what I was saying. It doesn’t really work like that…

Tons of people use Twitter. It is one of the biggest social networking sites around and it is so simple to use, I wish I had started using it for my business a lot earlier.

I wrote a post on Warrior Forum called “5 Tips for Using Twitter” a while back. I’m going to share some of those tips but edit them a bit because I have recently learned a lot more about being successful with Twitter.

1. For best results, you need to treat your Twitter followers like you would your list. Don’t just sell, sell, sell. Give too. Give freebies, link to informational blog entries, then sell every once and a while. In fact, rather than just popping in affiliate links, take the time to write an in depth review and link them to it. Show them you are really trying to give them information and your tweets are worth reading. If you spam ads, people WILL unfollow you.

2. Don’t just blindly follow and hope for follow backs. Follow people that share valuable information that you actually want to read or retweet. For example, my main business models include writing and selling PLR. I started by following some well known PLR sellers and writers that provided valuable information. I retweet their information and have conversations with them. Some followed me back, some didn’t.

3. Tweet, re-tweet, and direct message. Twitter is a community. Be active for best results. Take time to tweet. Re-tweet interesting tweets you see. (One of the reasons you should follow people in your niche.) Answer direct messages. All you have to do is take a few minutes out a few times a day to send a tweet about what you are doing or share something interesting, maybe retweet something interesting. It doesn’t need to eat up a lot of time, but active people get more followers and better response rates.

4. Fill out your profile and add a background. People on Twitter don’t want to follow a salesperson, they want to follow a person. Someone who is real and will share interesting or funny things with them. They want to follow people that will make them think or laugh. An avatar is also important. I use the same picture on Twitter I use on Warrior Forum and my blogs to help people recognize me.

5. Don’t just use automated software. Sure, planning out tweets with a software is fine, it will help maintain consistency, but take some time to manually get in there and nurture your relationship with your followers. They may not pick up on it right away, but eventually they will realize you aren’t actually going to Twitter and seeing their tweets or taking the time to socialize with them.

6. Videos and photos work wonders. They grab attention. Yet another reason to make your own Youtube videos so you can do a mix between your own videos and other interesting videos!

7. Don’t just follow random people… follow interesting people in your niche. Follow back people that follow you from time to time. You don’t want your feed to be so cluttered you can’t see the people in your niche or the people following you because you want to be able to reply to their tweets and engage in conversation. This method gets you much better results than mass following and unfollowing people that don’t follow you.

8. People love stories. For instance, if you are in the get your ex back niche, link to stories about people getting their lovers back. This is inspiring to your followers.

9. Funny jokes and quotes get retweeted often, as do links to interesting or funny webpages or blog entries. Remember, you want EVERY tweet to make them think or smile!

10. Give freebies from time to time. Maybe a short book or gift every once and a while. Holding contests is also great in getting people involved and watching for your tweets as well. It doesn’t have to be anything big… I had a contest on my old Twitter where I asked people to tweet a link to their favorite of my blog posts and everyone who did would be entered in a drawing for a $10 amazon gift card. That $10 got me over 100 new followers and tons of traffic and email opt-ins.

11. Use hashtags (ex: #10ThingsILove) but don’t spam them. I like to use a trending hashtag from time to time if I think it is something interesting and I use maybe one related hashtag in a tweet. Don’t go overboard, it just looks bad.

Now, the question most people have:

How to get Twitter followers.

My suggestion? Don’t worry about getting tons of followers fast. Instead, get followers that are interested in you and what you do. Include links on your website. You’ll notice that “Follow Me” bar to the right. You can include a link to your Twitter in your email. Let them know you will be sharing information on Twitter that they may find interesting that they won’t receive through email.

Another option has to do with your autoresponder. You probably have some sort of opt-in bonus, right? Well, if you have a double opt-in page you can redirect them right to your Twitter after opting in or leave a link to your Twitter on your download page.

The best way I have found to get followers is to just let people know you have a Twitter and participate within the community. As you get retweets and as you tell people you are Twitter, higher quality followers will come on their own.

In the comments below:

I would love it if you would take some time to leave a link to your Twitter and some of your own questions or tips for Twitter usage in the comments!

Very good information. I use Twitter basically to share what other bloggers are doing. If someone follows me I look first to see who they are, if we have anything in common or any other people in common, and if not, I don’t follow them back. I used to, then I started unfollowing as I was getting nothing but sales pitches. I like to share really good blog posts like this one. Something others can benefit from.Ruth Clark recently posted..New Posting Schedule

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